Nest.



B. F.l CLARK.

NEST.

APPLlCATION FILED JUNE 9, 1914. 1,152,706., Patendsept. 7,1915.

d@ w W/ Inventor kv a Attorneys BEN F. CLAIR/K, OF WICHITA, KANSAS.

NEST.

appiieationfned June 9, 1914.` serial No; 844,050;

To all whom t may concern.' Y

Be it known that I, BEN F.' CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wichita, in the county of Sedgwick and State of Kansas, have invented'av new and useful Nest, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesto improvements in nests of that class which are used fory the segregation of laying hens.

An object of the present invention is to provide a nest with novel branding means and` actuating means therefor.

vWith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention residesin the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the `precise embodiment `of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings accompanying this yspecilication and'foi'ming'a partthereof, the preferred embodimentof my invention is illus* trated. f i

In said drawings :-'Figure lis a view in vertical section `of the improved nest. Fig. 2l is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2`2 o f Fig. l. F ig. 3 is a view kof a detail.

Referring to the drawings kin which simil lar reference `numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the casing or frame is provided with the vertical guides 5 extending along the side edges of the front entrancek opening or doorway 7. A door G is slidable vertically within the guides, 5 to close and open the entrance `opening' 7 leading to thev interior of the' casing. Suitable ystops 7 are carried bythe lower ends of the guides to prevent the door from being lowered excessively.

rlhe bottoni S ofthe casing has an Opening 9 in which the nest tray l0 is disposed.

The forward endof the nest tray is prof vided with an outstanding flange l1 which rests upon the bottom 8 and is so connected thereto, as at 12, as to'enable` the rear or free end of the nest tray to swing vertically.

"A lever 13 is fulcruined to a bracket or hanger 15 depending from the top ofthe casing adjacent the rear wall or backof the casing, and the lever is provided with a relatively short rearwardly projecting arm and witharelatively long forwardlyprojectingy y i ySpecification of Letters Patent.

PatentedSept. 7, 1915.

arm. The rear army .of the'lever 13 is disposed above the rear or'free end of the4 nest tray l0,.and the rear arm or end of the lever and the rear orfree end of the nest trayare connected by an upright bail-shaped link 14'. The forward arm of the lever is .provided with a pluralitylo'f" aperturesv 16` with which is adjustably engaged afweight 17' fornor- .mallyv maintaining the tray yl0 ina raised;

position.

The front wall'y ofv the receptacle is pro'- i y vided' with an inner shelf 18 which is ydis-l posed above thel forward end of the nest tray 10' and supports the reservoir or4 tank The reservoir:

19 of the branding device'` 19 includesY a cover20` havingk a removable cap 21 to" permit the tank to be filled from4 time to time. The cover. of the reservoiris provided-witlra slot 22 through .which a link 23' extends, the upper'end'of thelink 23 being' pivotally connectedy to the! forward end or. arm1 of the lever'l'S and the'lower end of the link 23v being pivotally connected to ay dispensingtrough 24 carried by the reservoir..

The dispensing trough, 24t entends through u? PeIlIlg 25L provided inv the rem, Wahl of. the reservoir above the leveli of'the branding' liquid L .within tlie'reservoinand the trough 24 is pivotally connectedl to the rear'wall of" thepreservoinas at 26, andthe rear end of" the trough projects, from the rearzsideror` wall ofr thereservoir, while the-other or for` ward end of the dispensingjtrough isswingablelwi'thin` the reservoir to positions below and above the liquid'. level. The link 23 is pivot'ally engaged, to thejinner or forward end' of the trough 24T, wheiiiebywhen the nest. l0 is depressed to swing the forward arm lof the lever 13 upwardly, the trough .24 will and bottom of the trough, for enabling the branding 'liquid` to flow readilyrinto the 4dispensing trough', when. the forward endof theL dispensing trough is swung downs` wardly,zas seen .in Fig. l.' Particular attention; 1s

that the weight 17 being adjustable along ythe long-army of the lever 13, may be adjusted directed tothe 'fact j for controlling the velocity at `which the nest tray 10 swings downwardly, when the hen steps thereon. This is also of'importance in connection with fthe branding device, and especially in connection with the apertures 29 provided in the sides of the trough 24 adjacent its bottom and forward end. Thus, when the weight 17 is adjusted V toqenable the nest tray to swing downwardly quickly, when the hen steps thereon, the trough 24 will be swung upwardly quickly, whereby almost the entire` quantity of brand ing liquid contained in the trough will be elevated thereby and discharged onto the hen. However, when the weight 17 is adjusted so. that the nest tray swings downwardly slowly, when the hen steps thereon, the trough 24 will be moved upwardly slowly, and as a result a portion of the branding fluid contained in the trough 24 will run back into the reservoir through the apertures 29, and as a result a less quantity of the rbranding fluid or liquid will be discharged onto the hen. Thus, by adjusting the weight 17, the speed of actuation of the device `maybe controlled, and furthermore, the amount of branding liquid discharged is Lalso regulated correspondingly.

In order to trap the hen within the casing and to exclude other fowls therefrom while the nest is occupied, a device is employed for normallyholding the door 6 in raised or open position and for releasingthe door when the nest is occupied, to. enable the door to gravitate or drop toclosed position. Thus, a pair of guides or brackets 30 are secured to the casing or frame at the side andL upper edges of the entranceopening 7 ,j

, and a pair of latch rods 31 are pivotal'ly connected, as at 31', to the nest tray adjacentfthe side edges and rear end thereof, the latch rods 31 passing slidably through the guides 30 and having their forward or free ends 30 arranged toproject or engage un-v der the lower edge of the door 6 when the door israised, as seen in Fig. 1, and when the rear end of the nest tray 10 is raised. Thus, to set the trap, the door 6 is first raised and the rear end of the nest trap 10 being raised will cause the forward or projecting ends 30 of the latch rods 31 to projectunder the door for holding the door raised until the nest is occupied, which will cause the nest to gravitate or swing downwardlyfor retracting the latch rods 31 from under the door, so that the door will close for the intendedpurposes.

The casingor frame l is preferably` provided with aV removable cover or lid 34 which is dove-tailed into the top of the casand thecover 34 is preferably provided with agilfeblelhaedle 3Q .f

A latch 32 is carried by the front wall of the casing 4 at the upper edge of therentrance opening 7, and is engageable under the door 6 when it is desired to hold the and exit of the fowls.

In use, a suitable branding liquid V`L is`v poured into -the receptacle or tank 19, the liquid containing suitable pigments or dyes adapted for marking or branding thehen which occupies the nest, in order that the hen may be distinguished fromL the others.

When the nest tray 10 is occupied, it will be swung downwardly under the weight of the hen, which wiilswing the lever V13 so as to raise or elevate the dispensing trough 24, and which will result in a small quantity of the branding liquid L being discharged from the dispensing trough 241onto 'the hen for the intended purpose. When the door 6 is held. open, as illustrated in. Fig. 1, prior to the entrance of the hen into the casing, the door 6 will be automatically released as soon as the nest is occupied,for confining the hen within the casing, and for excluding;

connected to the frame to enable the rear end to swing vertically, a liquidreservoir carried by the frame above theforward end of the nest tray, a dispensing trough piv-y otally connected to andhaving one end 4projecting from the rear side of the reservoir, the other end of the trough being swingable within the reservoir below and above the4 liquid level, the sides of the trough having apertures adjacent the last mentioned end and the bottom of the trough, a lever fulcrumed to the .frame above the nest tray and reservoir and having relatively short and long arms projecting rearwardly andjforwardly, links connecting the short arm/of the lever and rear end of the nest tray and the long arm of the lever and last mentioned endof the trough, whereby Vwhen the nest tray is swung downwardly, the dispensing trough will be swung upwardly to discharging position, and an adjustablewei-ght Vcarried by the long arm of the lever;

Q. In a device of the character described, a

frame, a nest tray carried thereby and mov-y able vertically, a liquid reservoir carriedby the frame above the nest tray, a dispensing trough pivotally connected to and having one end portion projecting from the reservoir, the other end of the trough being swingable within the reservoir below and above the liquid level, the sides of the trough having apertures therein adjacent the last mentioned end and the bottom of the trough, and means operatively connecting the nest tray and dispensing trough whereby when the. nest tray is moved downwardly, the disnensing trough will be swung upwardly to discharging position, the said means ineluding adjustable means for controlling the velocity at which the nest moves down- 10 wardly.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. C. 

